


Trying To Make All The Right Moves

by Cefhclwords



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Comfort fic, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Holding Hands, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, Neck Kissing, Sleepy Cuddles, Swimming, Swimming Pools, Talking, about issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 05:49:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20237779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cefhclwords/pseuds/Cefhclwords
Summary: Eric and Dele have had some tough times recently. Eric is feeling overwhelmed but Dele is there.Without a word, Dele fluttered his eyes open, lashes dark with water and eyes soft as he looked at Eric. He reached one of his arms out of the water and laid it flat along the edge of the pool, fingers wiggled lightly.Eric understood the invitation, chest warm as he stepped closer to Dele, dropped his eyes to his destination of Dele’s chest. He curled easily into Dele’s side, dropped lower to tuck his head into the curve of Dele’s neck, lips brushed his skin in a mimic of a kiss against his skin. He tasted like chlorine.





	Trying To Make All The Right Moves

**Author's Note:**

> Hey babes! After the most recent game, Del not able to play and Eric on the bench and looking a little sad (and everything our boys have gone through in the past few weeks, still not being able to play together) I thought I’d write some comfort for them and for us!
> 
> I hope you loves enjoy this one, again it’s about twice as long as I anticipated so I’m sorry about the delay in getting it out to you! I feel a bit nervous about this one- this dynamic is a bit different And yeah idk yeah please let me know your thoughts!!! 
> 
> Any comments, feedback and kudos light up my day and really do mean the world to me! I’d love to hear what you think of to have time!! 
> 
> Enjoy my loves!
> 
> A special thank you to Tina for her help!!! 
> 
> Title from the song Real Estate by Adam Melchor

The house was silent around Eric from where he stood in the kitchen, a cup of water held his hand and his phone in the other. The screen was filled with the Twitter app, pulled up on the discovery page and flickering with trending topics. 

The result of the match was at the top of the page, a positive headline about Tottenham’s last minute fight, owning the second half to take it home. The photo was of Kane, his ring finger held to his mouth, lips pressed to his tapped wedding band in celebration. It was a beautiful photo and Eric resented the small knot in the base of his gut that it had given him.

Clay stirred from where he was settled by Eric’s feet, nuzzled his nose into Cisco’s side before he settled back into his sleep, his tail a weight on Eric’s foot. 

Eric swallowed down the rest of the cold water in three large gulps, his eyes lingered on the photo for a few more seconds before he pressed his finger down to lock the screen. The black reflection of the screen bounced the image of his eyes back at him, the hard set of his frowning brow, the sad set of his lips. God he was sick of himself, of feeling this way, of catching himself in a frown, of feeling an air of disappointment and dissatisfaction no matter where he was.

It was a like a heavy cloud that surrounded him, wrapped him up in dark fog and carried him away from reality. Like a little devil in his ear whispering “you’re not good enough, you’re not good enough, you're not first choice, things won’t ever be better”. 

Eric had always been an inherently positive person, from when he was young he remembered feeling confused at the anger and frustration people carried around. Like overweight luggage, all these people lugged around pessimism, a weight they decided to hold onto, a bag filled with tiny things that were worth letting go. 

In Eric’s eyes, most of the time, things were pretty good, nothing was unfixable. Almost nothing was so bad that there wasn’t some positive to pull out of it. But now, god, now it was like pulling teeth to see the brighter side. He didn’t know this unfamiliar side of himself and he hated that this new nature of his was seemingly negative. Eric was so used to the positive outlook he held, relied on it to carry him through the hard times that he felt like the ground had been pulled from his feet. 

A heavy sigh pulled his chest to full height, shoulders squared before he exhaled, let his shoulders slump and make himself smaller. He closed his eyes and dropped his phone to the counter, pressed his hands flat to the cool marble top for a few long moments, dug his fingertips in till they turned white with it.

He held them there till it stung and then drew his fingers back into fists. God he wanted to switch off his own brain, hit reset and start fresh. 

Logically, Eric knew he had the whole season, had the determination, the time to get his way back up, that he could fight back to where he was. He knew that Dele would be alright too, the rehab and care and rest and he’d be back before he knew it. 

He knew and yet he worried, felt hopeless- woke up and had those few lurching moments of his stomach where he felt like he was facing out at a black hole. He knew, but he was terrified, Held in place by knowing he had all this time- he was paralysed by the waiting. To recover was to wait and Eric selfishly wanted it now, he wanted things back to how they should be without the groundwork. 

For once, Eric’s determination to dig in and get himself where he needed to be, to be who he wanted by sheer strength and choice and discipline- it was quieter, toned down. Part of him nagged to give in, to just stop pushing- let it all fall over him, pick him up like a strong current and whisk him away, spit him out wherever the current determined. 

Eric hated it, felt like an intruder in his own mind, but a part of him was ready to just stop making the calls, stop pushing and pulling and working. Maybe if he wasn’t enough now, he couldn’t be ever, no matter what he did

A soft sound from outside broke his thoughts and Eric’s eyes blinked open in rapid little flurries. His brow creased heavily as he turned toward the large glass doors that separate the home from the backyard.

Dele was upstairs, as far as he knew, Eric’s mum had called as they stepped into the home. Eric had watched Dele climb the stairs, the dogs sniffing at Eric’s legs as he split off from the hall to the closed in TV room downstairs to take the call. 

When he’d come out after speaking to his mum, there had been no sign of Dele so he assumed the boy was getting ready for bed or already asleep, maybe pulling up something on Netflix for them in their room. 

So the noise caught him a little off guard- with Clay and Cisco sleeping soundly by his feet, it wasn’t them either. Eric carefully snuck his way out from between his sleeping pups, eyes watched carefully as he stepped between them, heading for the back door. 

Eric twisted the handle to no resistance, pushed the door open gently, frown a shade heavier at having found it unlocked, and poked his head out to look into the large yard. 

Oh. 

In the distance the glow of the lit up pool illuminated a soft blue into the night sky. The water was still, settled flat along the surface like glass, as quiet as the night around it. The trees were untouched by wind, no rain or cool bite to the air, it was mild and so silent Eric could only hear his own blood rushing in his ears. 

The lights under the water shifted colours, fading out from blue to a soft pink.

Eric felt his heart catch in his throat as he noticed Dele for the first time, leant against the wall of the pool, head tilted back to rest on the edge. 

The pink light that darted up through the water highlighted the hollow of Dele’s cheekbones, the sharpness of his silhouette, the beautiful line of his nose, lips and throat. 

The warm light was cast over every part of him that Eric wanted to kiss. Dele was beautiful, simply put, even now, far enough away that he couldn’t see the expression on his face, the warmth of his eyes, he was still overwhelming to Eric. 

The slope of his lashes, the hint of him in a pink haze had Eric craving to be closer to him. He felt selfish again then, a crest of something ugly somewhere in his chest. Selfish to want Dele now, that he would only spread the darkness he felt wrapped up in, the pessimism that was so foreign to him stlll. Part of how and Dele worked so well was his positive outlook, his relaxed and collected demeanor and careful approach, it balanced them evenly. 

Eric felt that prick in his chest, the one that told him he was being selfish, and stepped out into the backyard anyway. Maybe he was being selfish maybe he should just let Dele be, let him have some peace of his own.

But maybe he couldn’t, maybe this weight in his chest was too heavy to lift alone, or maybe he just needed someone to old his hand while he was weighed down by it all. It was harder now though, with Dele’s thigh too- it all felt too much, like the scales had already tipped before either had the chance to catch it.

It was hard to balance each other when they both so off centre, their natural dynamic felt like it had been robbed of them, taken away in the night between breaths- somewhere between the fault in Eric’s body and the fault in Dele’s. 

Eric kept his eyes on his boyfriend as the water splashed carefully around Dele, licked against his skin as he twisted his shoulder to the right before he settled back to his original position. 

The lights shifted again, a warm amber that looked golden where it bounced off Dele’s face, his chest. He looked like a sculpture almost, carefully crafted lines littered in gold, he looked untouchable, fierce and strong, the line of his strong shoulders and dips of collarbones small pools of shadow. 

Eric loved him so much his chest was tight with it, like his heart didn’t quite have the room to beat, shuttered quickly like misplaced steps, tripped over but kept going, unable to ever stop. 

Without realising, Eric was walking towards him, socked feet pressing to the tiles as he shuffled quietly toward the pool. He watched as Dele remained perfectly still, the only movement giving him away was the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. The silver chain around his neck shimmered in the low light with the moment. 

It wasn’t a large pool by any means, but big enough to fit them both swimming around. Eric and Dele had been surprised by it’s presence when they were shown the home by their real estate agent. Pools weren’t exactly common in London homes, and Eric has been delighted when he saw it.

The person who built the home had been an avid swimmer and refused to live without a pool according to the agent. While a lot of the time it remained covered up with decking that could be clicked in, during the warmer months it was always accessible and got a decent amount of use between them.

Eric came to a pause by the edge of the pool, felt a spot of wetness seep into the thin material of his sock, making it stick to his skin. A soft breeze finally brushed through the quiet night, ruffled the fabric of Eric’s shirt and made him curl his toes down into the tiles beneath his feet. 

Dele didn’t shift, or so much as open his eyes, as much as Eric was sure the other man was aware of his presence, he didn’t show it. An unexpected flicker of frustration kicked low in his gut and he cleared his throat softly only to still gain no reaction from Dele. 

Eric huffed and made a quick decision, reached for the back of his shirt and tugged it up off his head, before he stripped himself quickly of his sweats.

Only stood in his boxer briefs, Eric unlocked his watch from around his wrist, placed it on top of his clothing before he walked towards the stairs that lead into the water. Quietly, Eric slipped into the pool, the muscles of his abdomen jumped and his nipples hardened at the cool water. 

Still, Dele remained unmoved, and Eric waded through the water slowly to him, let his fingertips skim the surface, made small ripples with his touch. The lights in the pool switched colours again, casting a soft green as Eric came to a stop in front of Dele. He stool still, watched Dele’s unmoving face and dropped his hands into the water which made a splash that cut through the silence. 

Without a word, Dele fluttered his eyes open, lashes dark with water and eyes soft as he looked at Eric. He reached one of his arms out of the water and laid it flat along the edge of the pool, fingers wiggled lightly. 

Eric understood the invitation, chest warm as he stepped closer to Dele, dropped his eyes to his destination of Dele’s chest. He curled easily into Dele’s side, dropped lower to tuck his head into the curve of Dele’s neck, lips brushed his skin in a mimic of a kiss against his skin. He tasted like chlorine. 

“You want to talk baby?” The words were pressed to Eric’s head, lips brushed the skin as he spoke. Eric felt them as they vibrated from Dele’s chest, went hot head to toe at the pet name. It wasn’t often really, at all that Dele called him that, whenever he did, it did something stupid to Eric’s stomach, made him all melty and soft, weak with happiness. 

Eric sighed and pressed his forehead to Dele’s neck, closed his eyes and counted the quiet moments between them as he figured out what to say, how to phrase the mess in his head. Was it fair to tell Dele he didn’t feel good enough? Was it fair to indulge in this feeling when Dele wasn’t even on the bench? That he faced a few weeks of recovery before the chance of minutes while Eric was finally in condition to play. 

Eric felt Dele sigh, the heavy rise and fall of his chest before suddenly he was under the cool water, Dele still by his side. Eric pushed up to the surface, shook his head before he reached to wipe over his eyes, blinked hard and looked to Dele who had also pushed to the surface. His boyfriend had a challenging look on his face, a cheeky tilt to his lips and a raised brow. 

“What the fuck Dele” Eric gasped out, ran the back of his hand over his mouth as he looked at the boy with a heavy frown, confused as to why he’d dunked them under water. 

Dele shrugged and used his hand to cast a heavy splash over Eric who spluttered. “Fuck off” he huffed, splashed back without looking and only caught Dele lightly, scrubbed over his face to clear his eyes of water once more. 

“Why” Dele asked simply, watched Eric as he stood across from him, paused for a moment before he cast another splash over Eric. The water caught again in his eyes and Eric grumbled a huff, rubbed over his eyes once more before he spun and caught Dele around his waist. 

He picked him up with ease and took two long steps to pin Dele to the wall, used his body to keep him trapped there as he moved to grab Dele’s wrists, bundled them into one hand as he looked down at him. 

Eric glared at Dele, brow creased as his eyes scanned Dele’s face trying to understand why he was being a little shit when seconds ago he was asking him soft and sweet if he was alright. 

Dele’s mouth slipped from a grin to a full on smile as he maintained eye contact with Eric, wriggled a bit in his grip and looked down to where Eric was gripping his hand together. Eric felt an unexpected bubble of laughter catch in his throat, something break loose and a small laugh broke from his lips, breath catching with it.

He looked at how he had Dele pinned the pool wall, it was so ridiculous, such an over the top reaction to the splashes. God when had he become so fucking serious. “Fuck” Eric tilted his head back and let out a proper shoulder shaking laugh, losened his grip on Dele’s wrists and wrapped his arms around the others waist. 

Dele’s laughter burst out to fill the night air with Eric’s, both boys laughing at almost nothing, tangled together messily under the water. Dele wrapped his arms around Eric’s shoulders, hooked a leg over his hip and Eric was quick to grab his thigh, lifted him with no effort, weightless in the water as he held him. 

Eric’s laughter trailed off warmly as he had to catch his breath, exhaled heavily as he pulled Dele properly into his arms. Dele easily cuddled into the embrace, pressed his forehead to Eric’s and crossed his wrists behind Eric’s neck, fingers reaching back to play at the soft spikes of hair. 

“Wanna tell me what’s going on in that big head now you’ve stopped having a sulk?” Dele asked, and Eric shivered at his touches, carried Dele a few steps deeper into the pool. Once the water was over their shoulders Eric stopped, holding Dele steady. The lights flickered to red and Eric closed his eyes, began to rub his thumb on the jut of Dele’s hip bone.

Eric sighed before he spoke, trust Dele to somehow crack the weird feeling between them, fracture the discomfort to make Eric feel like it wasn’t anything too big to just say what was on his mind. 

“I just, you know I know I’m just back to playing, and the stupid surgery and everything last year I’m just- I’m being selfish but I’m sick of waiting. I- I want to. I want to be out there playing and then you know tonight I’m just warming the bench and-” Eric shrugged again, moved his head from where it was pressed to Dele’s to instead press to Dele’s shoulder, eyes closed. 

“Feel like a dick to be so impatient, wanting minutes when you know- I’m not in the best shape I’ve been and the new kids” Eric trailed off again, the words didn’t feel good enough to air out but the way Dele continued to pet soft and slowly over the back of Eric’s neck comforted him. 

“I just. Fuck I wanna fast forward to the good bit, where I’m better and you’re better and we are playing together again. Doesn’t-” Eric paused when he realised the words ready to spill out were the truth of it, the real ache buried deep in his chest. 

“Doesn’t feel right out there anymore” he let the words out. “With you gone I- even if it’s just on the bench, I want to play with you again, Del I hate missing out I miss having fun with it, with you, fuck I just want to play, to have a laugh and play the game I love. I feel like it’s just roadblock after roadblock I’m tired” Eric exhaled and moved his hand to the outside of Dele’s injured thigh. 

He gripped it warmly, laid his palm flat to Dele’s thigh and squeezed gently before he began to make small circles with his thumb.

“Heal heal heal” Eric muttered under his breath, pressed a kiss to Dele’s collarbone and squeezed him that bit tighter.

“Eric, my love” Dele whispered, squeezed the back of Eric’s neck, began to scratch through his hair rather than just petting his neck. “Amor” he sighed, and Eric felt him squeeze him in tighter, pressed as close as possible. 

The lights turned blue once more as Eric opened his eyes, looked down at the water from where his forehead was pressed to Dele’s shoulder. 

“You think too much, do you know that? Carry too much” Dele explained, took his hand away from Eric’s head to trail his fingers across the line of his shoulders before he moved it back to give gentle scratches. 

“Carry everything” Dele whispered, kissed the top of Eric’s head before he left his lips there, breathed him in.

“I’m ok Eric, I am. I was frustrated yes, very- it sucks, and I’m a bit worried you know but, you know what else I have a whole team helping me to recover” Dele’s words were soft. Eric squeezed Dele’s thigh tighter and drew a heart with his fingertips before he went back to holding it, wishing he could wish it better. 

“It sucks Eric but it’s not forever yeah? I’m strong, super strong- you make sure I eat lots of spinach” he teased lightly. 

“And I don’t need you to be so worried for me Amor. I love you, I love your heart so much but I’ve got this, all I need is for you to be my boyfriend- to kiss me and hold me and cook me food” he laughed.

“Don’t have to carry my pain, you gotta focus on you and I’ll focus on me and then we will just be our best together” he explained, and Eric took a deep breath, kissed Dele’s collarbone again.

“And that’s ok if we have to wait, it is because- I’m not going anywhere and neither are you. And it’s not going to be easy and maybe it will be a little while before we are back to normal, but” Dele squeezed the back of Eric’s neck and Eric pulled back to lock eyes with him. 

“It’s all part of it Eric. Sometimes things aren’t perfect, or fair- but it is part of it all, things are sometimes just shit. But I love you and I’ve got you and you have me- injuries or not Eric, that won’t change us, football or not that won’t change us” Dele whispered intently, kissed Eric’s cheek.

“It’s an injury, it’s some time on the bench, I promise that’s all it is, you and me Eric- we are so much more than that. We can handle that, we have this” Dele smiled and Eric’s heart pounded, chest felt heavy with emotions as as the water turned pink. 

Somehow Dele always knew how to get to the truth of it, no matter what Eric was feeling, how clouded he was around his own thoughts, Dele had a way of knowing what was at the centre of it. Eric lifted his head slowly, pressed a line of kisses from Dele’s shoulder, up his neck and along his jaw, smiled against his chin, lips pressed there before he tilted his head up for a proper kiss. 

Eric’s hands tugged Dele’s thighs tighter around him, kept his grip there as he kissed him soundly, licked wetly into his mouth to taste him. He loved Dele so intensely it ached right through him. He adored how Dele could take Eric from the pit of an awful mood, clear him from a terrifying mind set, that he could rely on him for everything, even when Dele was struggling himself. 

Eric pulled back from the kiss and peppered three light pecks over his mouth before he drew back to look at Dele. 

“You’re right. I- today it just was harder than usual I think” Dele nodded as Eric spoke, tilted his head up to smudge a kiss on Eric’s cheek. 

“I just- felt so useless sitting on the bench I just wanted to be back, Show everyone that I’m fine- that my body isn’t frail and- you know” Eric shrugged.

“Then it’s like, you weren’t there either, seeing you all the way over in the stands it just felt wrong, it all just felt so weird tonight, I just got in my head about it I guess” Eric explained further and Dele leant in to bump their foreheads together. 

“Hey, I know, that’s ok to feel like that, it’s always hard coming back from that, don’t punish yourself over it though my love, it’s not frail, you’re an athlete, you push your body hard and you had some uncontrollable bad luck” Dele assured him. “And don’t worry about me, I’m always right there even if I’m not right there- I’m never far from you Eric” the sentiment was soft and sweet and Dele let it sit in the air for a few moments before he spoke again. 

“But, hey I’ve decided we can’t both be grumpy ok? We have to pick, only one of us can be grumpy” Dele explained and Eric interrupted him by kissing him quickly, a brush of lips before he pulled back.

“If we are both grumpy, I’ve decided that it just cancels each other out” Dele smiled nonchalantly, moved one arm from where it was wrapped around the boy’s neck to instead reach up and draw his thumb over Eric’s brow. He moved his palm to cradle Eric’s cheek instead, kissed his temple and nose. 

“So, we were both grumpy cause of my leg and your surgery so now neither of us can be grumpy, simple as that amor” Dele smiled before he let go of his grip on Eric, twisted out of his arms and kicked lightly to dip under the water and swim to the opposite side of the pool. 

Eric smiled and shook his head fondly as he watched Dele slip away. 

The world around him just didn’t seem so dark anymore, the heaviness that had been dragging on his chest felt lighter. Maybe just knowing Dele had the strength to keep pushing had given him the inspiration to do the same. 

Eric had let very few things in life slip away from him, to lose out because of a lack of effort. His early life had been an endless focus on football, on the drive of wanting to be the best, to play for a club, his country- to push and keep pushing past exhaustion and hardship because he wanted it the most. Sure it came down to talent and skills, but it was also about wanting it, Eric had wanted it so badly he did anything to get through the training, gave up hookups, relationship, drinking with his mates- taking holidays. He sacrificed it for the bigger goal. 

And then god- everything with Dele, that hadn’t be easy either, it had been a bit scary, hard, confronting to fully commit to something that had to remain secret. It had been hard but again without much thought Eric knew what he wanted. He wanted Dele, needed Dele and he made sure it would work- again, sacrifices for the bigger goal. 

Maybe then this too, one more set back, a stumble from the path that they didn’t see coming, maybe he could push now too. Maybe he could work harder, get there because he refused to settle for anything else. 

Eric watched as Dele stood in the swallower end of the pool, piled his arms on top of the edge, rested his chin on the tiles. For now, he’d leave it there, maybe he could, just one more time, with Dele there too. Maybe they both could. 

For now that was enough.

He had a man that loved him, put up with him, gave him advice, knew how to snap him out of a bad mood- to make him laugh, and that, that was more than he ever dreamed of. 

Eric sunk lower into the water, walked as quietly as he could along the bottom of the pool towards Dele, let his eyes trace the lines of his familiar back tattoo. Eric paused right behind Dele, saw the slight tension wound up in the line of his shoulders, the way he twitched every so slightly, anticipating Erics next move. As much a he had tried to stay silent it was pretty much impossible that Dele hadn’t heard his approach in the small pool. 

Eric was thrilled that he was still playing along. 

Instead of picking up Dele, or dunking him under the water, Eric let himself sink lower in the water to kiss his lips to the bump of Dele’s spine, just above where he was waist deep in the water. 

Dele’s body shifted with a heavy exhale, Eric’s hands moving to rest lightly on each of his sides, feel the way his ribs expanded with a breath, skin prickled with goosebumps. Eric’s exhale from his nose blew out on Dele’s skin as his kisses trailed up the line of Dele’s back, fingers squeezed just slightly where he was holding him. 

The water splashed around them as Eric moved to kiss all the way up to Dele’s neck, bit gently at the base of his hairline just to feel Dele shiver in front of him. Dele’s hand reached up, cupped the back of Eric’s neck as Eric sucked kisses up to Dele’s ear, bumped his nose into the soft skin there. 

He slid his hands up from Dele’s ribs, his fingers drawing droplets of water up the skin as he move his hands to under Dele’s arms. He gently tugged Dele’s hand from his grip on his neck with a hand on his bicep before he skimmed his fingers down the length of his arms till he could tangle their fingers together. Their arms were laid utop each other’s, Eric’s laid over Dele’s resting on the tiles, bent loosely at the elbows. 

Dele was totally wrapped up in him like this, felt small in the space of Eric’s arms pressed tight to his own, his torso flat to Dele’s back, able to feel every breath.

“Better?” Dele asked softly, turned his head to the left and Eric took the chance to dip his neck down and steal a kiss, a little off centre and tasting of chlorine, but perfect. 

“Better.” Eric confirmed, nodded, letting the fuzz of his hair brush Dele’s ear. 

Dele squealed and squirmed in Eric’s arms, kicked out his legs, his foot hooked behind Eric’s calf. “Stooop” he whined and tucked his shoulder up to protect his ear, Eric moved to press his face to the back of Dele’s neck, laughing into the warm skin. 

“Before you know it Dier we will back at practice together putting your skills to shame” Dele said and Eric could hear the smirk in his voice. “You wish Del Boy” he huffed, squeezed his arms tighter around Dele to feel him squirm again. 

“I know, I am amazing thank you Eric for that lovely comment, you see how buff I’m getting? Could take you easily” Dele teased, and Eric laughed bright and loud, spun Dele with an easy twist of his arms.

He collected Dele to his chest, arms wrapped around his shoulders. “Yeah? You think?” Eric asked with a small smirk, they were competitive, without a doubt, loved to push and tease each other about who was better.

There were afternoons they’d spent hours playing one on one basketball, football, even arm wrestled each other. Eric loved it, he adored the fire that Dele held that matched his own. It was one of the things he loved most about Dele, one of the first things he had truly fallen for when he first met him. They were equals, to halves of a whole and Eric felt lucky every single day to have found that.

“Oh I know, acting like you’re all ‘big tough man’, but I see the fear in your eyes” Dele narrowed his eyes, placed both hands flat on Eric’s chest, thumb rubbed back and forth as he spoke. 

“In fact, Dier- I think,-“ Eric cut Dele off the easiest way he could think of, slid his hands to catch Dele’s face in his hands and pull him into a passionate kiss, lips sliding together as Eric picked up Dele into his arms once more. He let his mind switch off, wrapped up in Dele who didn’t seem to mind the interruption with the way he had melted into Eric’s hold, licked into Eric’s mouth keenly. 

Eric moved one hand to Dele’s bum, used that to hold him closer as he dragged his tongue over Dele’s, felt the moan that he let out between soft sucks or their lips.

Breathless, Eric pulled back and pressed a trail of soft kisses along Dele’s jaw, down the side of his neck, his shoulder, down the line of his arm. He paused with his nose pressed to Dele’s bicep, caught a bulge of the muscle between his teeth. In a bite, Eric held the skin and laved over it with his tongue till the skin was a soft red shade that would fade in a few hours, framed but the marks of Eric’s teeth.

“Strong man for sure” Eric mumbled, smirked against the skin despite his sincere words before he continued to kiss down Dele’s forearm. When he reached his wrist, he lifted Dele’s hand from where it rested on Eric’s shoulder, kissed up the back of his hand till he reached his fourth finger, the soft skin at the end of it, just above the knuckle. 

Eric kept his eyes low, looking at Dele’s chest as he kissed the small spot, held his lips there for a moment, just a second, for himself, thought ‘one day’ before he pulled back. His eyes felt heavy and watery, and Eric blinked hard against it. He didn’t look at Dele, but could feel the weight of his eyes him. 

Eric cuddled back into Dele’s body, hoisted him higher in his hold and pressed his face to Dele’s throat. He slowly began to twist them side through the water, a gentle rocking kind of motion that caused the water to make tiny little waves around them. 

“I love you so much” Dele’s voice was soft but heavy with emotion, his arms wrapped around Eric’s shoulders as he let him cradle him. 

For the first time in the last few minutes, Eric noticed the change of light, eyes open where he was tucked into Dele’s neck, the water a warm gold once more. 

“I love you Del” Eric whispered back, kissed Dele’s chest twice, felt the boy shiver under his lips. 

The pair stayed curled up in the water, Eric unsure how long, wrapped up in the soft touches and kissed Dele gave him, his own hand back to Dele’s thigh to rub lightly. 

His fingers were pruney and he was a bit cold, but he didn’t dare suggest they get out, felt at peace, light for the first time this week. 

It was only when the sound of dog paws and nails clipping against the deck sounded out a few long moments later that Eric moved. 

He pulled back slightly, felt drowsy and sluggish with how content he was, looked to see Clay standing there, looking at them with a tilted head. Clay let out a soft whimper and padded up to the edge of the pool, tail wagging. 

“Hey Clay, no swimming, it’s late” Eric spoke huskily, voice thicker with his tiredness. 

Dele smiled and pressed his lips to Eric’s ear, said a soft “come on, let’s go in and get the boys to bed and then us to bed yeah? Can put a a movie on, get warm”. Dele whispered, and Eric nodded, began to walk them to the stairs, up and out of pool. 

He kept Dele in his arms until they reached Clay, set Dele down gently on his own feet, but kept him in his arms in a loose hold as he turned to his pet. 

“Come on Clay, bed time” Eric spoke, trained to understand the instruction of Bed time, Clay turned and made his way back toward the house. 

Eric pulled away from Dele momentarily to scoop up his clothing and watch, held them in a bundle. He took Dele’s hand in his free one, fingers tangled up before they began to walk back towards the house, Clay already pushing through the dog door up ahead. 

Clay, Cisco and Dele were happily curled up on the bed, the dogs already asleep as Eric entered the room from the en-suite. Dele had showered whilst Eric locked up the house and got the dogs upstairs, walking out of the bathroom as Eric entered the bedroom. 

Eric had given Dele a soft kiss to his cheek in passing before he moved to the en-suite himself, tossed his clothing into the hamper and placed his watch on the vanity. Now clean and warm from the shower and smelling faintly of soap, just in a pair of sweat shorts, Eric eagerly climbed into their large king sized bed.

A yawn slipped from his mouth as he turned to Dele, the man was laid on his back with his eyes on the TV that sat on the wall across from the bed. The third Harry Potter film was playing on a low volume, and Dele had a softy sleepy smile on his face as he watched it. 

“Baby, come here” Eric requested softly, curled his hand around Dele’s wrist and tugged him towards him. Dele whined, his hand running over Cisco’s head in gentle pats, lips pushed into a pout. 

“Ugh fine” he huffed, like it was some hardship to move over in the bed. Dele shuffled what was really only a few inches, dropped his head to Eric’s chest. 

His arm wrapped around Dele’s shoulders and pulled him in, Dele warm where he was curled into his body. Eric placed his other palm flat on his chest, and Dele’s hand was quick to join it, playing with Eric’s fingers between his own, drawing shapes on the skin, twisting his fingers, curling them around Dele’s. 

Cisco noticed his sudden lack of affection, and was quick to pad accross the bed, settle at Dele’s feet and cuddled into a sleeping Clay. Dele moved to rest his foot against Cisco’s back, moved it back and forth in a mock petting motion. 

“Boys love you tonight hmm” Eric smiled, watched the dogs in a pile by Dele’s feet. Little traitors. 

Dele laughed and nodded, tangled his fingers with Eric’s in a loose hold of their hands. “Because I give them all the good food, and the best belly rubs” he smirked. “And I maybe even let them have some ice cream when you were making dinner the other night” he said softly, laughed when Eric gasped. 

“You’re bribing them” he huffed in disbelief, “no wonder they want to cuddle with you” Eric squeezed Dele’s fingers and leant back into his pillows. 

His eyes were heavy as he half watched the movie and half listened to the sound of Dele’s breaths, slow and steady, sure. Dele laughed warmly, a giggle at the film and tangled his leg with Eric’s, face pressed to his chest. 

Eric sighed happily, kissed the top of Dele’s head and breathed him in, the scent of his shampoo and body wash.

Yeah, Eric thought, laid in bed with just about everything he cared about in arms reach- Things were going to be just fine.


End file.
